A Simple Path to Contentment

Dead Drunk

Dead Drunk is the moving and powerful story of a teenager who lost himself to alcohol addiction after the breakdown of his parent’s marriage.

Paul Garrigan has written an honest (and often darkly humorous) account of the events that led him to travel the world and embark on a series of staggering drinking binges throughout the 1980s and 1990s. His adventures took him from the quite suburbs of Dublin to begging on the streets of London, getting paid to drink in Oxford and swigging illegal booze in Saudi Arabia, before finally ending up in a remote Thai village where he finally succumbed to his addiction, and was determined to drink himself to death.

Faced with the possibility of liver failure, and the breakdown of yet another relationship, Garrigan was ultimately forced to face his inner demons. While surfing the internet one night he came across a highly unorthodox detox program being offered by Buddhists monks, and in a last-ditch attempt at sobriety, he set out on what he was sure would be the strangest and most difficult journey yet.

In his extraordinary and thought-provoking debut book, Garrigan describes the physical and emotional effects of his alcohol abuse. With disarming honesty he documents his journey to Thailand’s Thamkrabok temple, where he hoped to escape his addiction and turn his life around – for once and for all. Garrigan’s book is a rare first-person account of treatment at Thamkrabok temple.

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Dead Drunk Paperback

Dead Drunk is available in bookstores throughout Ireland, the UK, Thailand, and many parts of South East Asia. You can also buy online from Maverick House

how are you? I stumbled across your website like most drunks reading continuously in search of the magic cure. I just purchased your book Dead Drunk on Amazon so i am counting the days until it arrives. Funny thing is it is meant to arrive the day i go to Thailand. My wife is Thai. I’m there for 3 weeks which scares me as i can go on one hell of a bender. I’m doing 3 nights in Bangkok, 7 nights in Udon Thani then 8 in Phuket. I’m a functioning piss head which “helps” but the roller coaster is one hell of a ride. Anyway take care and you should be very proud of the steps that you have made. Unfortunately not many people in that situation make it.

Hi Paulie, great to hear from you. I was a functional as a miserable drunk for a long time and it is not a life that I’d ever want to go back to. I went on many benders in Thailand; I found out that beautiful surroundings are no cure for an addiction. You are right that not many people make it, but we all can make it if we want it badly enough. When I compare how my life is now to how it was then there is no comparison. I’m not having a great day today, there is a lot going on in my life at the moment, but even a bad day like today is so much better than how things used to be.

Gee Paul you don’t get that quick a response at McDonalds.I leave for Thailand on the 8th April and i’m actually scared senseless. Wish i wasn’t going. I know i can’t get my life together until after that as i would be kidding myself that i’ll stay off the lunatic soup whilst away. I did 5 months sober over christmas and never felt better. Told myself i’ll never go back and here i am thankfully not half as bad as before. I come from a good line of alcoholics (some irish i’m sure you would be proud of). It’s a lot of work being a drunk and when i get home i think i might try the AA route. Have a good mate whose 7 years sober that way. Anyway i’m rapt i found your blog as i have exhausted nearly every drunk website on the web. I thoroughly enjoy your website so keep up the great work. If your book is anything like your blog i’ll give you a great review on amazon. Take care. Paulie from Oz!

Hi Paulie, I’m not a member of AA but I do have a lot of respect for the meetings. As far as I’m aware there are meetings going on in Bangkok, Phuket, and Udon Thani; so maybe you could choose that instead of a bender. I know that it is easy for me to say that, but it might be worth considering. The problem about delaying our plan to quit addiction is that we might not make it until the magic day comes when we are ready so stop – it is also just delaying the day our life starts.

Hi Paul, I couldn’t understand how anyone could drink and become addicted, this is because I only enjoyed alcohol for the first few minutes after I drank it. I got this nice feeling but that nice feeling didn’t last long and after that the more I drank the more I felt sick and uncomfortable, in fact I felt stupid to use the precise word to describe the feeling. So I don’t drink much if at all. It’s like a built-in alcohol control system isn’t it?
I am looking for an institution in thailand where you can learn and study buddhism, where you may have to pay for the clases. I mean a place where they conduct the study of buddhist philosopy and the doctrine, in english of course. Is there any university doing this at all?
I hope you have an answer for my question, or may be some readers may know such a place, hopefull :-))

Hi Pascal, it is good that you don’t feel the need to drink. I haven’t checked in a while but there are likely a few options for Buddhist studies courses. I seem to remember that there are a few postgraduate courses you can do and those that don’t require previous study. Hopefully somebody else will have a better answer for your.

I once met a quiet spoken Caucasian monk at a temple/monastery in..I think…Ubon? area.
He spoke English, can teach it in English, has books/textbooks in English. I remember there was a beautiful and shady bamboo forest at the entry.
You’ll need to ask around with the locals as I’m sure they know which monastery this was.

This sounds like a really good read; I will definitely be buying it. Sometimes reading a sobering and tragic account of someone else who was then able to recover, against all odds, inspires one to do the same. Divorce can have a huge impact on kids. I live in Thailand, and I can definitely see how it impacts young people here. And sadly, as any Thailand divorce lawyer will tell you, the divorce rate here (and in many other countries) seems to only get higher. Psychologists are in agreement that this negatively influences a child’s development. So surely it makes children more likely to escape through drugs and alcohol, as your probably discussed in your book. But anyway, thank you very much for writing this important work, and I wish you the best in your success as a recovering alcoholic. A lot of people could learn from your experiences.

Hi, loved your story. Im the wife of an addict it not easy. Havnt seen him most of this year he missed the whole pregnancy & birth of our son. His mam enables him & hates me. If I see him I might put a stamp on his head and post him to you. Im learning to let go but its hard

Hi Paul I’m quitting drinking after starting up again in my old age. Loneliness and anxiety are a bad combination. I was wondering about the mantra the monks taught you and if you would share it with me?

Hi Elizabrth, I think giving up alcohol is always a fantastic idea no matter what our age – especially if it is causing us problems. Each of the mantras given at Thamkrabok are meant to be for the individual and are not meant to be shared. To be honest with you, I haven’t used my mantra in years, and at the moment, I am struggling to remember it – it is just a tool.